Dragster on display during Speedweeks

Published: Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 5:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 11, 2013 at 8:36 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Lined up on an Alabama track next to another jet dragster, the announcer revs up the fans by asking who wants to see the male driver put Elaine Larsen "back in the kitchen, barefoot where she belongs."

The mainly male crowd cheered as Larsen began what was her second stint in a jet dragster — which is powered by a jet engine and goes 300 mph down the track in 5 seconds as part of an exhibition at drag racing events. Larsen got to the finish line first and then gave it right back to the announcer.

"He was teasing and I knew that so when I got out of the car I found a little frying pan and went up to the tower and acted like I was going to smack him upside the head," the president of Larsen Motorsports in Daytona Beach recalls of the 2003 event. "He said: 'I knew you were a keeper then, girl, when you could take a joke.' "

Teasing is something the 45-year-old is used to after being in a predominately-male field for 20 years. She started driving cars at drag racing events when she was 25.

Mostly, she said, the other drivers "would always have my back" telling drivers from out-of-town who commented about racing against a "little girl" that "You better watch it. She can kick your butt any day of the week," Larsen recalls them saying.

"I may smile real pretty, but as soon as the helmet goes on — it's game on," she said.

Larsen, co-owner with her husband, Chris, will unveil the company's new "Decade of Thrills" jet dragster Saturday at Daytona International Speedway and it will be on display throughout Speedweeks. The company, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, moved its headquarters in 2011 from Haines City to Embry-Riddle's Aerospace Research and Technology Park.

Succeeding as a woman in the motorsports industry is all about having a certain mindset, said Elaine Larsen, who drives in about 15 to 20 events a year. In her early years in drag races, she was one of only a couple of female drivers.

She and her co-driver, Embry-Riddle graduate Marisha Falk, are two of four licensed female jet dragster drivers nationally out of about 22 total drivers. Larsen has been licensed the longest of the women.

"I have a lot of respect for her," said Falk, 26, who works full time as a flight training manager at Embry-Riddle. "Coming from aviation, I was used to being in a male-dominated industry. She stressed the importance of knowing what you are talking about and being able to back yourself up."

'ONE OF THE BOYS'

Larsen took inspiration from early drivers such as Janet Guthrie, the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 in 1977.

"She didn't put herself as being different and I didn't think of myself as being different," she said. "When I put my helmet on and my fire suit on and get behind the wheel, it doesn't make a difference. I'm thought of as one of the boys now. They know that I've earned my right where I'm at today. They know I would come home and work on the cars and I would tow the cars to the race track."

Larsen, who played basketball in high school and was a cheerleader, didn't always know she'd get into the racing.

But after meeting her husband at age 16, things changed. For one of their first dates, they went to a drag race and she saw both the drag racing cars and a jet dragster, which goes a quarter of a mile in 5 seconds. She was intrigued and had a lot of questions.

They continued going to races and before they knew it bought a 1975 Chevrolet Vega with the intent of Chris being the driver. He wanted his wife to be interested in the sport so he could justify spending money on racing so he had her get in the car and test drive it.

"I thought I was going to be the driver, too. She wasn't supposed to be good at it," he joked.

She would race on weekends throughout the Southeast while running a home day care during the week.

"I loved the feeling of power. It would shake underneath me when you revved it up," she said about the Vega. "I was addicted."

ACCIDENT CHANGES PERSPECTIVE

But racing took on a more serious side in 2011 in Ohio during an exhibition race. She said a gust of wind picked up her jet dragster "and put me right into the wall." The dragster caught on fire.

Doctors cut two holes into Larsen's skull to drain blood from her brain from the impact. She still has two titanium plates and 15 screws in her head today.

Six weeks later, she was back in the car.

While she realized she "is not indestructible," she "can't image doing anything else." She also didn't want the accident to be the last thing her 16-year-old son, Andrew, remembered.

"I still have a lot of life left in me," Larsen said. "I will never give into fear ever."

But it has made her and her husband more cautious when looking over the car before a race.

Chris Larsen said every race his "heart stops until the car goes straight and I see the parachutes coming out," which helps slow the dragster down.

What remains of the destroyed Embry-Riddle sponsored car is on display in the shop as a reminder and to show Embry-Riddle students who intern working on cars that "this is real. This is what can happen."

"When she puts her helmet on and gets buckled into that race car, she has a command for it. She has a take charge attitude," said Mike Lewis, senior vice president of Don Schumacher Racing in Indiana, which has seven National Hot Rod Association teams.

Her mother, Beth Fricke, 78, who had seven children, said her daughter was always adventurous and when she started driving as a teen they always had to tell her to slow down, "though she was a good girl and never got a ticket that I knew of."

"I'm pretty proud of her," her mother said.

Larsen's crew chief, Brian Tocci, 20, an Embry-Riddle aerospace engineering student from Jupiter, said that "when she gets out of the car at the end of the track, you can tell how happy she is."

"She still acts like she's 20 when she driving," Tocci said.

Editor's note: Brian Tocci is an aerospace engineering student, and not as originally reported.

<p>DAYTONA BEACH -- Lined up on an Alabama track next to another jet dragster, the announcer revs up the fans by asking who wants to see the male driver put Elaine Larsen "back in the kitchen, barefoot where she belongs." </p><p>The mainly male crowd cheered as Larsen began what was her second stint in a jet dragster &mdash; which is powered by a jet engine and goes 300 mph down the track in 5 seconds as part of an exhibition at drag racing events. Larsen got to the finish line first and then gave it right back to the announcer. </p><p>"He was teasing and I knew that so when I got out of the car I found a little frying pan and went up to the tower and acted like I was going to smack him upside the head," the president of Larsen Motorsports in Daytona Beach recalls of the 2003 event. "He said: 'I knew you were a keeper then, girl, when you could take a joke.' " </p><p>Teasing is something the 45-year-old is used to after being in a predominately-male field for 20 years. She started driving cars at drag racing events when she was 25. </p><p>Mostly, she said, the other drivers "would always have my back" telling drivers from out-of-town who commented about racing against a "little girl" that "You better watch it. She can kick your butt any day of the week," Larsen recalls them saying. </p><p>"I may smile real pretty, but as soon as the helmet goes on &mdash; it's game on," she said. </p><p>Larsen, co-owner with her husband, Chris, will unveil the company's new "Decade of Thrills" jet dragster Saturday at Daytona International Speedway and it will be on display throughout Speedweeks. The company, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, moved its headquarters in 2011 from Haines City to Embry-Riddle's Aerospace Research and Technology Park. </p><p>Succeeding as a woman in the motorsports industry is all about having a certain mindset, said Elaine Larsen, who drives in about 15 to 20 events a year. In her early years in drag races, she was one of only a couple of female drivers. </p><p>She and her co-driver, Embry-Riddle graduate Marisha Falk, are two of four licensed female jet dragster drivers nationally out of about 22 total drivers. Larsen has been licensed the longest of the women. </p><p>"I have a lot of respect for her," said Falk, 26, who works full time as a flight training manager at Embry-Riddle. "Coming from aviation, I was used to being in a male-dominated industry. She stressed the importance of knowing what you are talking about and being able to back yourself up." </p><p></p><p>'ONE OF THE BOYS' </p><p></p><p>Larsen took inspiration from early drivers such as Janet Guthrie, the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 in 1977. </p><p>"She didn't put herself as being different and I didn't think of myself as being different," she said. "When I put my helmet on and my fire suit on and get behind the wheel, it doesn't make a difference. I'm thought of as one of the boys now. They know that I've earned my right where I'm at today. They know I would come home and work on the cars and I would tow the cars to the race track." </p><p>Larsen, who played basketball in high school and was a cheerleader, didn't always know she'd get into the racing. </p><p>But after meeting her husband at age 16, things changed. For one of their first dates, they went to a drag race and she saw both the drag racing cars and a jet dragster, which goes a quarter of a mile in 5 seconds. She was intrigued and had a lot of questions. </p><p>They continued going to races and before they knew it bought a 1975 Chevrolet Vega with the intent of Chris being the driver. He wanted his wife to be interested in the sport so he could justify spending money on racing so he had her get in the car and test drive it. </p><p>"I thought I was going to be the driver, too. She wasn't supposed to be good at it," he joked. </p><p>She would race on weekends throughout the Southeast while running a home day care during the week. </p><p>"I loved the feeling of power. It would shake underneath me when you revved it up," she said about the Vega. "I was addicted." </p><p>ACCIDENT CHANGES PERSPECTIVE </p><p> </p><p>But racing took on a more serious side in 2011 in Ohio during an exhibition race. She said a gust of wind picked up her jet dragster "and put me right into the wall." The dragster caught on fire. </p><p>Doctors cut two holes into Larsen's skull to drain blood from her brain from the impact. She still has two titanium plates and 15 screws in her head today. </p><p>Six weeks later, she was back in the car. </p><p>While she realized she "is not indestructible," she "can't image doing anything else." She also didn't want the accident to be the last thing her 16-year-old son, Andrew, remembered. </p><p>"I still have a lot of life left in me," Larsen said. "I will never give into fear ever." </p><p>But it has made her and her husband more cautious when looking over the car before a race. </p><p>Chris Larsen said every race his "heart stops until the car goes straight and I see the parachutes coming out," which helps slow the dragster down. </p><p>What remains of the destroyed Embry-Riddle sponsored car is on display in the shop as a reminder and to show Embry-Riddle students who intern working on cars that "this is real. This is what can happen." </p><p>One long-time drag racer, Mike Lewis, senior vice president of Don Schumacher Racing in Indiana, calls Larsen "fearless." </p><p>"When she puts her helmet on and gets buckled into that race car, she has a command for it. She has a take charge attitude," said Mike Lewis, senior vice president of Don Schumacher Racing in Indiana, which has seven National Hot Rod Association teams. </p><p>Her mother, Beth Fricke, 78, who had seven children, said her daughter was always adventurous and when she started driving as a teen they always had to tell her to slow down, "though she was a good girl and never got a ticket that I knew of." </p><p>"I'm pretty proud of her," her mother said. </p><p>Larsen's crew chief, Brian Tocci, 20, an Embry-Riddle aerospace engineering student from Jupiter, said that "when she gets out of the car at the end of the track, you can tell how happy she is." </p><p>"She still acts like she's 20 when she driving," Tocci said.</p><p><i>Editor's note: Brian Tocci is an aerospace engineering student, and not as originally reported.</i></p>